Grappling Tips Newsletter

November 25, 2008

The Deep Half Guard

The Deep Half Guard is a position that I've been working with for the past year or so. I often end up using it to counter various guard passes to the 'regular' half guard.

In the Deep Half Guard you jack your opponent's leg up onto your shoulder. Your hands and legs can do different things, depending on the type of sweep you're trying to set up.

In the first photo (with the gi) my right arm is hugging his top hip and my legs are triangled.

In the second picture (no-gi) my right arm is controlling his bottom thigh and my left arm is buried under his leg. I am controlling his leg by sandwiching it between my right instep, and left calf.

If you play this position then you really have to watch out for two main submissions:

Your opponent stepping over your head and putting a kneebar on your bottom leg
Your opponent attacking your bottom arm with a Kimura

The main defense for these attacks is - you guessed it - awareness. The best way to develop this awareness is to grab a partner, get on top, and play around with these attacks yourself. This will really tune up your spider sense for these attacks; you'll eventually be able to hear your opponent thinking about these attacks and adjust your game accordingly.

Another way to defend the big two Deep Half Guard submissions is with leg and arm position. The position of the legs in the second picture provides some protection against the kneebar; try it and see! The positioning of the left arm in the second picture (i.e. buried under the thigh) also makes it a lot harder for your opponent attack you with the Kimura.

Does that mean that you should always use the arm and leg position from the second photo? Not really. If you did that then you'd really cut down on your number of attack options.

Speaking of attack options, below are some of the better clips I've found on Youtube for using the Deep Half Guard to sweep your opponent.

So there you have it, a quick introduction to the Deep Half Guard!

Labels: techniques, the guard

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 1:10 PM

November 23, 2008

'Tis the Holiday Season

Yesterday I went on a roadtrip to train with Erik Paulson and some of his other instructor's at the NorthWest Kali gym just south of Seattle in the town of Federal Way.

For five hours Erik stuffed knowledge into our brains. I was writing as fast as I could, making about 10 pages of notes, and still getting maybe only half of everything that he taught. I'll be writing about some of the things that he showed us in future posts on this blog and newsletter.

After the session I learned one more thing: Erik told me he'd seen my latest article in Ultimate Grappling Magazine! The issue with Tito Ortiz on the cover (January 2009).

I like seeing my articles in print, so on the drive home I went on a magazine hunt. I finally found it at a Barnes and Noble just north of Seattle. After admiring a large photo of my handsome mug (which is getting choked silly) I wandered around the mall a bit, and made another discovery: the Holiday Season is in full swing!

The music has started. Tinsel and Christmas ornaments are everywhere. People look different - more focused maybe - as they try to do their shopping before the late December rush... This was a good reminder to me to get my own Holiday sale up and running.

So I've figured out what I'm going to do.

First, I'm taking an additional 10% off of all prices, so you can save up to 35% on certain items and packages.

Second, with every order I'm going to include the Tight Makes Right Wall Poster. Erik liked this poster so much he grabbed the last two copies I had with me for his own gym!

Third, I will also send you one of my distinctive Grapplearts Dragon Logo patches, with silver and red thread on a black background. A perfect way to show that you're not just an ordinary grappler...

So take advantage of this sale and pick out your own Christmas present by clicking here.

Labels: Grapplearts DVDs

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 10:57 PM

November 20, 2008

Countering the Half Guard Pass

Since I released my DVD on the Dynamic Half Guard I get a lot of questions on how to prevent certain guard passes. I cover a lot of guard pass and leglock prevention in that video, but it's *only* 2 hours long, and so I couldn't cover every last counter for every last guard pass.

Some of these guard pass counters are really difficult to describe in words. Hopefully the little video piece I just put up onto Youtube helps answer some of your questions about the half guard position.

Labels: Grapplearts DVDs, the guard

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 12:25 AM

November 19, 2008

An eBook and eCourse for BJJ Beginners

Recently I've been working like a madman on my latest project, which is the new website Beginning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (beginningbjj.com).

Ta Da!

This site is specifically designed for people just starting Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. At the moment the resources include my brand-new eBook "A Roadmap for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu", and the Beginning BJJ eCourse.

The book contains many photographs, links, diagrams, and new written material. It is designed to give beginners (and their coaches) a 'big picture' of BJJ, so that they can figure out how techniques relate to each other and what they might want to learn next.

The course covers many of the little details that are so important in BJJ. The things that advanced grapplers take for granted, but might be huge revelations for beginners. Right now it's set up to automatically send out these lessons about every 3 days.

Did I mention that both the eBook and eCourse are free?

It's getting rave reviews, so if you want to see what it's all about, check out what you should know if you're just starting BJJ classes

Thank you
Stephan Kesting

P.S. Don't worry, Grapplearts.com isn't going anywhere, and this newsletter is going to keep on coming out as well. These websites are aimed at two separate niches, and both still very important to me

Labels: the mental aspect, training

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 11:34 PM

November 17, 2008

Jiu-jitsu Idealism

I post a lot of articles on this site, but I also have no problem 'stealing' good material from other people (provided I can get their permission, of course)!

I recently added a new article to the Grapplearts library - check out guest author Tal William's interesting and informative article on "The Way to Train - Jiu-jitsu idealism"

Labels: the mental aspect, training

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 9:13 PM

November 12, 2008

My Secret Method To Get An Advantage

In previous newsletters we've discussed what a grappling arms race is, and how in that situation you can use video self analysis to get an advantage over your training partners.

Today I want to briefly touch on one of MY secret weapons in the everlasting arms race in the dojo. That method is focused partner training.

Here is what I do. Suppose I consistently run into the same problem with a certain individual - perhaps he's catching me with the same submission all the time, or he's always countering my sweeping techniques, or whatever. As we're sparring I'll try to make note of the problem - I might even put myself into the exact problem position on purpose, just so I can see exactly what my opponent is doing to make my life difficult.

Then I call up a different training partner, and we meet behind closed doors with the windows blacked out and the room swept for listening devices. I show that partner the situation that is frustrating me, and we look at it from all angles and brainstorm for solutions. Going back to the problem in this calm and controlled environment usually results in us soon having an answer to the original dilemma. The next step is to take it back to the original partner and see if it actually works in reality.

Many of the sequences I teach in my Guard Sweeps and Leglock DVDs were developed exactly like this. First I had an initial attack that worked for a while. Then my opponents figured out how to counter those attacks. And then I used focussed partner training to discover and refine the recounters to those counters.

As we leave this topic I want to emphasize once again that this arms race is a mutually beneficial process. After I use my new super-duper recounter one or two times in class, I then share it with my sparring partners. That way the cycle goes on and we both continue to grow.

Labels: training

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 11:08 PM

November 05, 2008

One Grappler's Secret Weapon

In the last newsletter we talked about what an arms race is, and how it can drive BJJ technique to higher levels. I also promised I would reveal a couple of secrets used by my training partners and I in our continuous struggles to get even the slightest advantage over the other person.

Since it's my newsletter I'll start by spilling Vlado's beans first...

Vlado often plunks a small digital camcorder down at the side of the training area when he starts to roll. He then lets it record the whole sparring session.

Later, when the sparring is still fresh in his mind, he watches the action again at home. Here he simultaneously critiques his own performance and looks for holes in his sparring partner's game. This doesn't take as long as it sounds, because there is always the fast forward button to get past the boring sections and on to the interesting bits.

It is scary how effective this analysis method is for Vlado. Let's say that I'm working on a new technique or variation of a technique. I might spend a month working on it and using it only on the lower belts at the club until I think I have it down. Then I unleash it on him, and sometimes - if I'm lucky - it may even work once or twice in that first session!

Then Vlado goes home and watches the tape. Usually by the next time we spar he's figured out what my trick was, what he did wrong, and how to completely shut down my new move.

If you have the time, and especially if you're a visual learner, then give video self-analysis of your sparring sessions some consideration.

As for me, maybe I should get in touch with some counter-intelligence people, and see if I can borrow a digital video jamming device. I'm sure the big spy agencies would understand the importance of my jiu-jitsu game to national security...